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Martin O’Neill believes he’ll know by the end of the week if he’s to be asked to remain in interim charge of Celtic — but insists he’s unsure at this moment if he’d accept any offer.
The Northern Irishman claimed his third win in four matches following Brendan Rodgers’ resignation as his side eased to a 4-0 win over Kilmarnock.
With the Parkhead side now just seven points behind Hearts going into the international break, many supporters would like to see the 73-year-old stay in the dug-out for longer.
Asked when he anticipated getting clarity on the situation from powerbroker Dermot Desmond, O’Neill said: ‘I have to go back down to London again.
‘I’m going to go into a darkened room and come out on Thursday and see if this has really happened.
‘So, I should imagine at some stage or another during the course of the next week, whether it be tomorrow, whether it be Saturday or Sunday of next week, that somebody will let me know what’s happening.’
O'Neill expects to know by the end of this week whether Celtic want him to extend his stay
Kieran Tierney was among the scorers in a 4-0 victory against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park
Full-back Marcelo Saracchi had to go off in the first half after picking up a hamstring injury
O’Neill and assistant Shaun Maloney attended the game between St Mirren and Hibs yesterday, with Celtic set to face the Paisley men next time out.
Adamant that his presence didn’t necessarily mean he was set to take charge of that fixture, O’Neill added: ‘It’s my job. I wanted to come to the game because the one thing I’ve always done here, I’ve had complete respect for opponents all the time.
‘You never know, if I was around, it would give me an opportunity to watch the game.’
Pressed on whether he would stay on if asked to do so, O’Neill said: ‘I’m going to be serious here. I really don’t know.
‘I was going to say it’s a young man’s game. And I’m almost talking myself out of this here. But it’s been tough, you know.’
Asked what the next manager was inheriting in terms of the mentality and talent of the squad, O’Neill said: ‘Well, if I’m leaving now, I’m going to tell the next manager he has got the greatest squad that’s ever lived.
‘And then, if I’m staying on, I’m saying we’ve got a lot of work to do. So, there we are. You can see outside what we have and what we don’t.’
A good win for Celtic came through goals from Johnny Kenny, Kieran Tierney, Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels. But O’Neill revealed that as well as losing Marcelo Saracchi to a hamstring injury, both Callum Osmand and Alistair Johnston are now poised to go under the knife this week after suffering the same injury.
‘He’s done his hamstring,’ said O’Neill of Uruguayan Saracchi. ‘He’s going to be out again.
‘And the other two lads, Johnston and Osmand, are getting surgery on Tuesday. So, they’re going to be out for a long time.’
On the display itself, O’Neill said: ‘When we scored the third goal and there was about four minutes left, that was the only enjoyment I got out of it.
‘We did fine in certain areas and certain spells of the game. Yes, just lovely to win.’
Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell has now seen his side lose five games on the bounce.
‘We need to go and work hard over this break,’ he said. ‘This idea of players going away to get a bit of sunshine isn’t going to be a thing. That’s not a punishment.
‘Even guys going away on international duty, they’re Kilmarnock players and our job is to start getting points on the board and become the threat I felt we were for the first part of the season.’
